The Downy Woodpecker is a delightful little bird that can be seen throughout the year at the arboretum. It is black and white with white spots on the wings, a white stripe down the center of the back, and a striped head. It also has spots on the outer tail feathers. The sexes are easily distinguished by the vivid red patch on the back of the male’s head, which is absent on the female.
As I stated in my previous post, in the fall and early winter, the males and females lead more independent lives. This is all about to change as winter draws to a close and they start pairing up for mating. The first sign of this is when both sexes begin drumming by striking their bills against resonant parts of trees—hollow trunks, dried branches, or planks created where a tree has broken during a storm. These rhythmical sounds ringing across the landscape function to establish territory and to attract mates, as many birds accomplish through vocalizing a song. I expect them to start drumming soon.
I followed a pair of downy woodpeckers around for a few weeks when they were drumming last year. I realized that there were many damaged trees due to storms because they were popular drumming posts. I also became more aware of the amount of snags peppered throughout the landscape because they were also popular drumming posts and places to forage. Does part of a healthy ecosystem include damaged trees from storms? I think the woodpeckers would say yes.
Resources
Downy Woodpecker Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/overview. Accessed 2 Mar. 2023.
Ehrlich, Paul R., et al. The Birder’s Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds: Including All Species That Regularly Breed North of Mexico. Simon & Schuster, 1988.
Peterson, Roger Tory, et al. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. 4th ed, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.
Stokes, Donald W., et al. A Guide to Bird Behavior. 1st ed, vol. II, Little, Brown, 1983.
